My certificate from the Land's End and John o'Groats Company
Walking for a couple of weeks is one thing, but walking across an entire country for three months is another thing altogether. I walked from Land's End to John o'Groats in the summer of 2003 and I rate it as one of the most interesting experiences of my life. I had my ups and downs and had to dig deep to make it, but there's no doubt this is one of the biggest challenges there is. It's something I'll never forget.
One of the great things about walking from Land's End to John o'Groats is that you can take absolutely any route you like. There are books that suggest sensible routes, and I highly recommend Andrew McCloy's route guide The Land's End to John o'Groats Walk (available from Amazon)
The most difficult thing about walking across Britain is coping with the huge distance involved. I walked 1111 miles in 89 days (that's 70 walking days and 19 rest days) and I averaged just under 16 miles per walking day. For the first month my body ached and strained, and I nearly gave up just two weeks into the walk when I screwed up a tendon in my right foot; during the second month my body coped much better, and I began to entertain the possibility that I might actually finish the walk; and during the third month my body basically fell apart, worn out by the gruelling distances and constant pounding along Britain's roads and paths. I limped into John o'Groats, kicked off my boots, dumped my pack and sighed the biggest sigh of my life.
But was it worth it? Most definitely. I'm enjoying that fact that I've walked from Land's End to John o'Groats far more than the walk itself. As a way of creating wonderful memories, crossing the country on foot is pretty hard to beat, and I hope the walking tips in this section help you create memories that are just as amazing.
